With school ending and summer commencing, many expat families choose this time of the year to end their contracts and leave the UAE. As you prepare to bid farewell to your host country, you should also plan for a smooth re-entry process.
Unfortunately, returning home can sometimes be just as challenging and frustrating as your first few months living overseas. You assume that ‘going home’ is a simple matter of re-settling. However, worldwide research shows that re-entry has its own set of social and psychological issues including the very real possibility of reverse culture shock.
Reverse culture shock is the emotion of suffering culture shock in your home country (which you would expect to be familiar). Sadly, the affected person often finds this more startling and difficult to deal with than the original culture shock. The truth is that being an expat is a long and profound international experience that brings about many extraordinary changes. Following a stint overseas, expats view their old customs and principles from a fresh perspective. Having been exposed to new cultures, people, cuisines and languages it is very likely that their paradigm has shifted to a more tolerant, inquisitive and globally aware mindset.
Studies show that the top gripes ex-expats have on re-entry include feelings of ‘disconnection’ and alienation, boredom and reverse homesickness. Ex-expats also feel frustration towards friends and family who find any change in the ex-expat’s personality as ‘wrong’ and many feel upset by people’s unwillingness to listen to or partake in conversations about their experiences overseas.
To cope with re-entry, it helps if you can share your experiences with others. You may not be able to do this in person, but thankfully can turn to blogs, forums or Facebook pages and groups intended for ex-expats. In addition to this, keep in contact with the friends you made overseas while rebuilding relationships in your home country. Revisiting hobbies and interests that you enjoy and volunteering are just two excellent ways to become involved in your community and make new friends.
To remain connected to the global community meanwhile, keep an international perspective. Read international magazines and foreign newspapers, bookmark websites such as CNN International, tune into the BBC World Service and experiment with new recipes. If you learned the language of your host country, look for opportunities to continue to practice it and converse with others.
Reverse culture shock is a transitional stage and constitutes a significant learning experience. Being flexible, patient and expecting the unexpected helped you to get through the first few months of your new life abroad way and this same set of skills will help you settle back home too.